THE CRISIS: Nixon Presses His Counterattack

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Pure Hell. Nixon, too, was blunt at times. Responding to suggestions that he should make a detailed defense before a joint session of Congress, Nixon said with a smile that it might be ineffective because "the Democrats would probably say 'The son of a bitch is lying,' and the Republicans would probably say 'Well, he's lying, but he's our son of a bitch.' " Nixon conceded at one point that he had experienced "seven months of pure hell over Watergate." He pleaded: "If you cut the legs off the President, America is going to lose." Urged to consider impeachment in order to clear the air, Nixon said: "I will not put the country through that."

While the net impact of the week's sessions was a plus for the President, some participants were critical. A conservative Republican Congressman, Ohio's John M. Ashbrook, said the content "boiled down to 'Believe us or believe them.' "

Nixon used the meetings to make a surprising attack on the credibility of Richardson, who had resigned rather than follow presidential orders to fire Special Prosecutor Cox. Nixon and his chief of staff, Alexander Haig, both contended that Richardson had misled them by at first agreeing with Nixon's orders that Cox must stop seeking presidential papers in court, and with the plan to let Mississippi Senator John C. Stennis "authenticate" a White House transcript of presidential tapes wanted by Watergate prosecutors. Then, the White House charged, Richardson "got cold feet" and quit.

The attempts to impugn Richardson were carried out in two of the Nixon meetings. At a Tuesday session with Senators, Richardson's name came up, and Nixon said there was a great difference between "what Richardson had stated and the course he had taken," but added: "I don't want to hurt Elliot Richardson." Objected Senator Marlow W. Cook: "Hell, Mr. President, if there is a choice between not wanting to hurt Elliot Richardson and having absolute facts to refute what he said, I think it absolutely essential to the presidency that the information should be made known." Nixon demurred.

Not True. But the next evening Nixon escalated the attack. When Senator Charles Percy referred to the Cox affair, Nixon quickly cut in. "Now," he said, "I want General Haig to recount the events of that week." Haig claimed that Richardson had actually originated the idea to halt all further efforts by Cox to seek documents through court action. "But General," objected Senator Charles McC. Mathias Jr., "that contradicts Elliot's sworn testimony."

Nixon: But he wasn't telling the truth.

Mathias: But Mr. President, he was under oath.

Nixon: You don't think you're going to get him for perjury, do you?

When one version of this exchange leaked out, the White House, incredibly, clung to a semantic denial, saying Nixon had not accused Richardson of lying but of "simply articulating one of the several versions of the events." It was a curious performance—first an attack on Richardson, then a denial that an attack had been intended—but it got the White House version out.